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Toronto Raptors fans hungry for 100 point-pizza promo

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough when your fans get more excited about a slice of pizza than us winning,&rdquo; says Toronto coach Dwane Casey.

the pizza-for-points affair has received a mention on ESPN in the U.S., according to the pizza maker. It appeared Raptors fans were being tagged with a bad reputation, but the pizza maker didn’t see it that way. (VINCE TALOTTA / TORONTO STAR) | Order this photo

By the end of the Raptors' 117-101 loss to the Orlando Magic on Monday, the hometown crowd was less interested in the game and more interested in this.

By Mark ZwolinskiSports Reporter

Wed., March 28, 2012

Apparently, it’s an acquired taste.

Local pizza icon Pizza Pizza and the Toronto Raptors have combined for years on a points-for-pizza promotion that is normally a tasty hit with fans. Win or lose, if the Raptors bag 100 points in a game, everyone in the house gets a free slice.

But despite losing badly against Orlando on Monday, Raptors fans opened up with lusty cheers in the dying seconds of the game as their club hit the 100-point mark, which left some explaining to do.

“I was like, ‘Wow, they’re going to cut the lead to 16,’ and the whole place went nuts like they won the championship. I had no idea what was going on,” said Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy.

The Raptors eventually lost the game 117-101, with Ed Davis the hero for putting the Raps over the century mark and gifting the crowd with the free pizza.

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Raptors coach Dwane Casey looked up at the stands at the end of the game, and later had a private moment with Van Gundy. Some of the Raptors were standing as the final seconds wound down, trying to tell teammates to run out the clock instead of going for the points.

There is an unwritten code about running up the score when the game has long since been decided, even if you’re on the losing side.

Van Gundy, once informed of the promotion by a reporter, began to have fun with it.

“Really? We got a standing ovation for a slice? They told me they got a free pizza. A slice? A slice you have to sit in your seat and clap. You can’t stand up on a slice. That’s bad etiquette,” said Van Gundy, lobbying for a whole pizza per paid customer.

Casey saw the fun and the concerns with equal seriousness.

“I heard what coach Van Gundy said and I agree,” Casey said.

“If we get 100 points, we should get a whole pizza. A slice is not enough for us to score 100 points. That’s a lot of labour for us to get 100 points. We should get a whole pizza. So let’s talk to the pizza company and make sure we get a bigger piece than just one slice.”

Raptors players shied away from queries on the subject Tuesday.

“It’s tough when your fans get more excited about a slice of pizza than us winning,” said Casey. “Again, I understand where we are. Again, I want to be here, and I’m going to be here where we are getting 100 points consistently and hold the other team below 100 points. Then we give them two pizzas or something.”

By Tuesday, the pizza-for-points affair has received a mention on ESPN in the U.S., according to the pizza maker. It appeared Raptors fans were being tagged with a bad reputation, but the pizza maker didn’t see it that way.

“I’m kind of speechless. It’s getting all this attention,” said Pat Finelli, chief marketing officer for Pizza Pizza, whose company also stages variations of the promotion for the Blue Jays and Maple Leafs.

“We’ve done it probably 10 years now. I don’t know what’s different with this game. I think the fans just want to go away with something.”

Finelli said he received numerous phone calls about Monday’s game, from both sides of the border. If it became a big enough issue, the pizza maker would consider altering the promotion, Finelli said.

“I’m a Toronto fan and I’ve always been a team player. If they want to change it to maybe 100 points in a win, then sure, we’d look at it,” he said.

MLSE vice president and COO Tom Anselmi said the fans seem to like the promotion.

“It’s been harder to hit 100 points than in some years but our fans love it.”

Anselmi said MLSE is not considering any changes to the promo.

“It’s not something we have given any thought to at this time,” he said. “It’s never been an issue so we’ll continue to do it.”

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